Exposing the Hydra

Stephen Wiggins Studies 1 Comment

“Failure to take any meaningful action against identified networks and individuals has led to the present situation where international Vietnamese syndicates are operating with impunity across Africa and into Vietnam and its neighbouring countries. Illegal ivory, rhino horn and pangolins are entering Vietnam at alarming rates, accelerating further declines in …

Sounding The Horn

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Save the Rhino International’s report, “Sounding the Horn” suggests that the United Kingdom (UK) antiques industry is trading rhino horn lots without proof of provenance in many cases. However, there are loopholes in the UK’s regulations, whereby: “At present…..there is no pre-sale requirement to verify the age or provenance of …

Japan’s attack on international whaling ban

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  “Japan has spent more than 30 years slaughtering whales despite an international ban on commercial whaling and is now proposing measures which would effectively lift the global ban on for-profit whaling. Japan’s so-called Reform Proposal is being considered at the Brazil meeting of the International Whaling Commission, taking place …

Illegal Wildlife Trade in Laos

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Banner Image: Photo via Flickr user Animals Asia According to a recent (2015) report from the Environmental Investigation Agency, “SIN City – Illegal Wildlife Trade in Laos’ Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone:“ “……..numerous ritzy resorts in the Southeast Asian country have been capitalizing off the sale of exotic meats and specialty …

In Plane Sight – Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector

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The report, “In Plane Sight: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector,” produced by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies as part of the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, revealed the principal role airlines play in the endangered wildlife black market: “The air industry …

The Economics of Captive Predator Breeding in South Africa

Stephen Wiggins Article, Studies 3 Comments

There is a planned “Colloquium” (workshop) on the 21 and 22 August 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa titled “Captive Lion Breeding for Hunting in South Africa; Harming or Promoting the Conservation Image of the Country[?]” The answer seems fairly obvious, the harm is manifest: IWB’s letter to the Chairperson: …

Is ‘Canned’ Damaging Brand South Africa?

Stephen Wiggins Studies 6 Comments

The Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH) and SPOTS (Netherlands) issued an updated report today, a compendium of all the self-inflicted, international bad publicity South Africa garners from harbouring the macabre captive (‘canned’) big cat breeding industry within its territory. “Captive Lion Breeding, Canned Lion Hunting & the Lion Bone Trade: …

The Extinction Business- South Africa’s Lion Bone Trade

Stephen Wiggins Studies 7 Comments

In a comprehensive report just released, “The Extinction Business, South Africa’s ‘Lion’ Bone Trade,” EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading, July 2018 the conclusion is: South Africa’s lion bone trade has “….created a situation where the legal trade in ‘lion’ bones is fuelling the illegal trade in lion and tiger …